


breathe in the sunlight

by dracometria



Series: Sookai Week 2020 [4]
Category: TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Blond Huening Kai, Gryffindor Choi Soobin, Head Boy Choi Soobin, Ilvermorny, M/M, OT5, Ravenclaw Huening Kai, Shy Huening Kai, Sookai Week 2020, Soulmates, Tiếng Việt | Translation in Vietnamese, Veela Huening Kai, soft, sookai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:21:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22573177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dracometria/pseuds/dracometria
Summary: Huening Kai transfers to Hogwarts and is determined to graduate quietly. His plans are delightfully ruined when his soulmate finds him in the library.
Relationships: Choi Soobin/Huening Kai
Series: Sookai Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1612066
Comments: 7
Kudos: 225





	breathe in the sunlight

**Author's Note:**

> *** **many thanks to Dot for translating this fic in Vietnamese!** the link is available [here](https://www.wattpad.com/story/231781650)  
> again, i'm so, so grateful that people are willing to reach out to me and offer to translate my fics...it's a really big honor, thank you so much...
> 
> prompt: mythology  
> ...veelas are close enough to mythology (based off sirens), right? ㅠㅠ i finished this fic and then realized it's only barely related /rest 
> 
> the lore used will be in end notes!
> 
> since i changed kai's house, i figured i may as well change soobin's to the one he's always wanted as well (!!!)/gryffindor, i've kept the rest as they were sorted irl - slytherin yeonjun, gryffindor beomgyu, ravenclaw taehyun
> 
> the fic starts towards the end of kai's 5th year going into his 6th

His parents told him he would know the moment he meets his soulmate. Sitting quietly in the library that day, when the Gryffindor approaches his secluded corner table, Kai _knows._

“Can I sit here? It’s a bit crowded everywhere else.” The boy smiles. He looks friendly enough. 

“...Sure.” Kai raises his book a little higher so he can hide behind it. His heart is pounding and his hands are clammy. He’s both wary and excited that he’s found his soulmate, but he’s mostly wary. He’s heard enough horror stories about soulmates, and frankly he doesn’t trust this stranger with his heart yet. Any traces of romanticism in him have long since vanished. 

The Gryffindor looks at him curiously. “What’s your name? I’m Choi Soobin. I haven’t seen you around before.” Hogwarts isn’t small by any means, but it’s painfully obvious who the new people are. 

“I transferred from Ilvermorny,” Kai explains, and he bites his lip when Soobin looks at him expectantly. Looks like he actually needs to introduce himself. “My name is Huening Kai, but you can just call me Kai.” 

“Kai,” the Gryffindor says, as if testing how it sounds. “That’s a pretty name.” He tilts his head. “What year are you in? It can’t be sixth. I’m a prefect and I didn’t see your name on the list.” 

“Fifth,” Kai says, wondering why his soulmate was talking so _much._ Choi Soobin must be a naturally outgoing person. _Or maybe,_ his heart whispers, _it’s fate._

Soobin seems to startle when he sees something out the window. Kai follows his gaze to see a distressed-looking broomstick without its owner.

“ _Shit._ Yeonjun,” Soobin huffs. He hastily stands up and gathers his belongings. “Well, I’ll see you around, Kai.” 

Kai nods wordlessly. They would see each other, even without any effort from either of them. The bond will eventually pull them together again. His eyes flit back to his book, and he reads the same page at least four times without understanding anything. 

He sighs. He’d better owl his parents. By habit, his fingers trace the edge of his glasses—making sure that they were still on, that they were still protecting him. 

* * *

“You don’t understand, he was so cute! Like a little chick, I just wanted to hug him tight,” Soobin gushes as he walks with Yeonjun back to their dorms. “Hyunie’s in the same house and year as him, do you think they know each other?” 

“Maybe,” Yeonjun says. “You’ve been talking about him this whole time. Are you really not going to spare any thought to your best friend who almost just died?” he pouts. 

Soobin rolls his eyes. “If you _listened_ to me, then maybe you wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Some brooms aren’t meant to be tamed.” A rudimentary healing spell had solved most of Yeonjun’s injuries, but he would still be aching for the next few days. It’s not like they could exactly go to Madam Pomfrey, since Yeonjun had broken a few rules with his stunt. 

The Slytherin’s eyes flash with determination. “I can tame this one. I _will._ ” 

Soobin sighs as he wraps an arm around Yeonjun. “I believe in you, but be careful. If not for your own sake, then for mine. If I didn’t need to come rescue you, I could have gotten to know him better.” 

“Disloyal,” Yeonjun accuses. “What happened to bros before hoes?”

Soobin frowns. “He’s not a ho.” 

“Taking sides already!” Yeonjun gasps dramatically, swooning violently into Soobin’s arms. 

“Knock it off,” the Gryffindor laughs. “Come on, let’s find Beomgyu and Taehyun before we break curfew.” 

“Race you to the dorms.” 

“I don’t even have my broom,” Soobin protests, but the Slytherin suddenly takes off running. “Ya, wait! That’s cheating!” 

Still, even as Soobin runs, wind singing past his ears, there’s something about the Ravenclaw in the library that he can’t shake. The way he looked at Soobin was too...complicated. Scared, almost.

It’s a mystery that needs to be solved.

* * *

Soobin finds him in the same spot the next day. “Thought you’d be here,” he says with a wide grin as he sits across from him.

Kai’s head jerks up, lips parted in surprise. He figured he’d see him soon, but not _this_ soon. “Soobin,” the Ravenclaw says quietly, nodding in acknowledgement. 

“You know Taehyun, right?” Soobin says, resting his chin on his hand as he observes Kai. He’s not sure why, but there’s something ethereal—almost fragile—about him. 

Kai swallows, a bit unnerved from Soobin’s full attention. “Yeah. We’re friends.” He averts his eyes. “He always helps me with the dorm’s riddle if I get stuck.” Taehyun is kind, and Kai finds that he can relax around him. There are days where Kai doubts he was sorted in the right house, and Taehyun constantly reassures him. It’s markedly different from Thunderbird at Ilvermorny, though Kai has changed quite a lot since he was first sorted.

Soobin smiles and he gives Kai’s shoulder a brief pat. “Don’t worry about that, even Ravenclaws who have been here since they were first years get stuck.” 

Kai is startled by the touch, but is careful to mask his reaction. His skin tingles pleasantly underneath his robes. 

“I was going to study with Hyunie tonight, so I wondered if you wanted to join us,” Soobin continues. “I study with him a lot even though he’s a year younger. He grasps new concepts really easily, and he’s ahead in his classes too.”

“Ok,” Kai agrees. He doesn’t really have an excuse not to go. Taehyun is his only good friend at Hogwarts. Ever since Ilvermorny, he finds it difficult to let others get close. He has to put in some effort for his soulmate too, who’s obviously trying, but for unknown reasons. Does Soobin really want to be friends? He fidgets nervously with his glasses. 

Soobin grins widely. “Great, I’ll see you tonight then! I actually have to go right now,” he says apologetically. “Prefect meeting.” 

Kai waves goodbye shyly, ducking behind his book again when he sees other students look at him with equal parts curiosity and envy. It seems that Soobin is rather popular, which confuses Kai further. Are his intentions fueled by their soulmate bond? No, at this time, it should be too weak. Kai can’t figure it out, and not for the first time, feels insecure in not knowing. 

* * *

Yeonjun curses as the broom takes a nosedive, and he braces himself for a rough tumble to the ground. Suddenly, the broom halts its rapid descent, and Yeonjun almost falls off of it anyway in surprise. The broom didn’t react like it was listening to him, instead, it seemed that an outside force had calmed it. Yeonjun looks around him, and he quickly sees the source of magic. If his hunches are right, it’s Soobin’s Ilvermorny boy—there’s no wand in sight, and the boy himself is as Soobin described, with messy black hair, oversized circular glasses, and as cute as a chick. Kind of his type, actually. 

“Huening Kai?” the Slytherin calls out. 

The Ravenclaw freezes, no doubt wondering how he knew his name. Yeonjun grins deviously, being no stranger to selling out his best friend. 

He dismounts the broomstick to introduce himself. “I’m Choi Yeonjun. Soobin has told me a lot about you.” He stretches out his gloved hand, which Kai shakes after a brief delay. Definitely shy. If Soobin ends up not pursuing him, he could have a lot of fun with this one. 

Kai dips his head. “Yeonjun...have you tried giving your broom a name?”

Yeonjun is caught off guard. “A name? No, why?” 

“It cares about you. You groom and polish it, but it deserves a name, too.” 

If that’s what helps him tame his broom, Yeonjun would give it a hundred names if that’s what it wanted. “Is that something they do in Ilvermorny?”

“N-No, not really,” Kai says, “I just have a feeling.” 

Yeonjun, oddly enough, feels that Kai’s right. He grins. “Thanks,” he says as he ruffles the Ravenclaw’s hair (oops, he just took a “first” away from Soobin). “Then how about...Moawajjuni?” The broom performs a flourish before zipping straight into his outstretched hand. He looks at Kai with newfound respect. “Not bad at all, little bird.” 

Kai ducks his head, heart hammering from having spoken so much with a stranger. He had cast the calming spell without thinking after seeing the steep plummet. He recognized the broom from yesterday and realized it must belong to the “Yeonjun” Soobin spoke of. The Slytherin is very attractive, to put it lightly, and if Kai hadn’t already found his soulmate, he might have been in a bit of danger. The wind tousles Yeonjun’s wild blue hair, as if to make a point. 

“Need a ride?” Yeonjun’s eyes sparkle mischievously. 

“No thank you,” Kai says, already fast walking away.

Yeonjun’s curiosity is piqued. Soobin chose an interesting one.

* * *

Kai somehow ends up sandwiched between Taehyun and Soobin. His soulmate smells like chocolate and freshly made bread and maybe like he’d just left the dining hall. 

Taehyun reaches around to nudge Soobin on the shoulder. “Stop bringing snacks into the library.” 

Soobin snorts and brings out what seems to be a small pantry’s worth of baked goods from his sleeves. “I will when you stop eating them.” 

“Touché.” Taehyun snags a pumpkin pastie from the pile. “So where are we starting?” 

Soobin leans over Kai’s shoulder to take a look at his notes. The Gryffindor is so close that the younger can smell the lavender shampoo he uses, which rapidly goes up in the list of his favorite scents. 

“Transfiguration first, it’s the hardest.” Soobin smiles at Kai and offers him a treacle tart.

“Thanks,” Kai murmurs, taking a small bite. He’s not enthused—transfiguration is difficult for him, all precise flicks of the wrist and wand—so much unlike much of the wandless magic taught at Ilvermorny. Of course, they were taught not to completely depend on wandless magic either, as it could be volatile and inaccurate, but Kai got used to not picking up his wand unless he absolutely needed to for an exam. 

“In that case, Kai should work on Transformation, and Soobin on Conjuring. You can cover each other’s weak points.” 

“You know how to Conjure?” Soobin blurts out. “I thought they didn’t teach that until sixth year.” 

Taehyun lightly hits Soobin over the head with their textbook. “Ilvermorny has a different curriculum. You’re right though, in terms of Conjuring, Kai’s far ahead of us.” 

“Why did you hit me if I was right?” Soobin complains, suddenly wrapping both arms around Kai, who squeaks in surprise. “Tell him he’s being mean, Kai.” 

Taehyun smacks Soobin’s fingers with his wand. “Hands. Off.” 

Soobin yelps and releases the younger Ravenclaw. Kai feels warm all over and hopes he’s not blushing. He thought he still wasn’t ready for physical affection, but evidently he is wrong. He already misses being held by his soulmate.

“It’s ok,” he mumbles, and Soobin looks exhilarated as he wraps his arms around him again. 

“You’re so adorable,” The Gryffindor declares, squeezing him tightly. Unexpectedly, Taehyun joins in. 

“No cuddling without me,” the older Ravenclaw says seriously. 

“I knew it. You just wanted to keep him for yourself,” Soobin accuses. “That’s why you never introduced us.” 

Taehyun smirks and doesn’t deny anything. 

It takes them a while to disentangle and get back to work. Even though Kai’s only friend is there, it feels like he’s hyper-aware of his soulmate. His heart races when Soobin wraps his fingers around his to demonstrate the motions required for the assigned Transformation spell. 

Taehyun sighs. He did warn the younger Ravenclaw that Soobin was like an over-enthusiastic puppy at times, but Kai seems to be putting up with his antics surprisingly well. 

“Choi Soobin! Kang Taehyun!” someone yells. The librarian shushes him loudly. “Oops~” 

Kai startles out of his spell, but Soobin’s arm stays wrapped around him. 

“Beomgyu,” Soobin greets, his fingers still clasped around Kai’s wrist. Kai wonders if he even notices. 

“I was wondering why you didn’t invite me! Is it because you replaced me already?” Beomgyu says as he flounces to their table. 

Truth be told, Soobin didn’t want to overwhelm Kai, who seemed to be the shy type. His Housemate could be...loud.

“Hello! I’m Choi Beomgyu, fifth-year!” The Gryffindor thrusts his hand out, which Kai tentatively shakes with his free hand. “Oh, your hands are really soft,” he immediately comments. “Where are your broomstick calluses? Do you put lotion on them every day? What’s your skincare routine?”

Kai looks slightly dazed in the presence of the chatterbox. Luckily, Soobin steps in. 

“I know, right?” Soobin gushes. “Kai is so soft and cute.” He hugs Kai again as if to prove his point. 

“You always end up talking more than you study,” Taehyun says dryly. Beomgyu sticks his tongue out at him. 

“Well?” Beomgyu says expectantly. “I can join, right?” 

“If Kai’s comfortable,” Soobin says. “I didn’t want to freak him out with you weirdos.” 

“Ya! You better be talking about Yeonjun—” 

“It’s ok,” Kai interrupts. “The more the merrier. I already met Yeonjun earlier.” 

Now it’s Soobin’s turn to gawk. “You did what?”

Taehyun sighs—really, this is how half of their study sessions go with the four of them—soon to be five—always getting distracted and failing to actually study. He has a feeling that Kai will fit right in. 

* * *

Kai doesn’t know when exactly he lets his guard down, if it’s over time or all at once. He just knows as the end of the school year melts into summer, he grows impossibly close to the other four; like they were extensions of himself that he’d been missing. He thinks he’s almost ready to tell them—but he wants his soulmate to be the first to know. 

Soobin, who seems to take every chance to be physically affectionate. With time, Kai learns to relax, to feel safe in Soobin’s embraces. He even thinks he’s affected somehow, as if all of the skinship had turned him into a clinger person too. A few months is a long time to wait for feelings to mature—and Kai’s blood itches for _more,_ he wants to kiss his soulmate, wants everyone to know they belong to each other, wants to _claim_ him.

But Kai is confused. He can’t tell if Soobin likes him or not. He’s affectionate with everyone; Kai can’t help but be jealous when he hugs or cuddles someone else—that’s _his_ soulmate—but it’s not like it’s the Gryffindor’s fault either, considering Kai hasn’t told him yet. 

He wonders if Soobin would reject him. 

Part of him resents his glasses—like maybe if he isn’t forced to wear them, Soobin wouldn’t think he was just “cute.” Kai wants to fluster Soobin too, he wants the older to feel the same way he does whenever Soobin gets in his personal space, tall and handsome and gorgeous with the most breathtaking smile he’d ever seen. 

The last thing he wants, though, is a repeat of Ilvermorny.

He sighs. The days of summer are bleeding away right before him, yet he wakes up and goes to sleep with the same dilemma. 

“What are you sighing about?” he hears, and he’s not surprised to see it’s Soobin who’s joining him in their “secret hideout” (really, it’s just one of the Room of Requirement’s Conjured rooms, set to expire two years after creation). The other three are probably playing a game of pick-up Quidditch with whoever’s left at Hogwarts. Kai’s not the best at flying and Soobin doesn’t like exercise, so the two often sit out for anything remotely close to athletics. 

Kai automatically makes space for Soobin on the oversized armchair. The small window in the room lets through the perfect amount of sunlight to bask in, and with a place to rest, it’s an easy setup for a nap. Soobin pulls him closer before making himself comfortable in the chair. 

“Just thinking.”

“A Knut for your thoughts.” 

Kai’s a terrible liar, so he doesn’t even try. “Was thinking about Ilvermorny.” 

“Ilvermorny?” Soobin asks curiously. The Ravenclaw didn’t seem to have many good memories of the school, since he rarely talked about it. 

“Yeah.” Kai sighs again, and Soobin softly threads a hand in his hair, guiding Kai towards his shoulder. Soobin’s other hand rests gently on Kai’s thigh. Being with Soobin, as always, feels safe. 

“You don’t have to talk about it.” Kai resists the temptation to nuzzle against Soobin’s shoulder, instead, he reaches out to hold his hand, and the Gryffindor interlaces their fingers with practiced ease. With Soobin against him like this, warm and perfect, Kai really did feel like falling asleep. 

“Everyone thought I was a monster,” Kai finally says, eyes drifting closed. “I don’t want that to happen again.” 

Soobin says a lot of things—sweet nothings, really—that comfort him and lull him to sleep— _‘nobody would think that here’ ‘even if you were objectively classified as one, we would still be by your side’ ‘you’re perfect to me’ ‘don’t ever change’ ‘I’ll protect you’._

Kai wonders why everything sounds so sincere coming from him.

* * *

Soobin can’t help but stare. Kai’s long lashes cast shadows on his cheeks, his full lips look soft and enticing, and the hand that latches onto his even in sleep made his heart flutter. Kai is so breathtakingly pretty that Soobin’s sure his standards have been wrecked for a while now.

When Soobin first met the Ravenclaw, he initially couldn’t leave him alone because he had looked so shy and lost, like he didn’t know where he belonged. In a place like Hogwarts, that would have truly been a tragedy. Though it took a while for Kai to come out of his shell, when he did eventually come to trust them, it was a rewarding experience to see shy smiles and soft stutters transition to contagious laughter and a penchant for pranks. Soobin is delighted when Kai starts to return their affections by clinging to them, really, that might have to be one of his favorite accomplishments. 

But it’s when Kai smiles or laughs that Soobin feels especially enraptured. When Kai laughs, he laughs with his entire body, loud and expressive—Soobin doesn’t know when he began to fall, but he figures it might have been around then, around when Kai laughed genuinely for the first time and stopped Soobin right in his tracks. Soobin found him so beautiful in that moment that he may or may not have gushed about it to Yeonjun after.

A smile tugs on his lips. Kai fits right in, as if he’s always been their last remaining piece. Soobin releases his hand from Kai’s hair for a moment so he could remove his glasses. Though they are arguably fashionable, they couldn’t be comfortable to sleep in. He freezes; now that he thinks about it, he’s never seen Kai without his glasses. Hardening his heart, he removes them. 

_Merlin,_ he is so fucking beautiful, Soobin thinks, closing his eyes and resting his head against the Ravenclaw’s. It’s never difficult to sleep with Kai by his side like this. 

Unbeknownst to him, Kai’s hair starts to lighten.

* * *

When Kai wakes up, he has the odd feeling that something’s not quite right. He frowns, then almost screams when he realizes his skin is faintly glowing. His free hand shoots up to his face to feel for his glasses, and he panics when he realizes they’re missing. _Shit shit shit._ Soobin makes a sleepy noise next to him as he flails, and he nearly cries with relief when he spots them resting on the table next to them. He manages to get them on just as Soobin wakes up.

“What’s wrong?” Soobin asks groggily, rubbing his eyes, and the Gryffindor looks so cute that Kai would normally hug him if he hadn’t just averted a crisis. 

“Nothing,” Kai says breathlessly, but per usual he is a terrible liar, and Soobin turns around to raise an eyebrow at him. Kai witnesses the exact moment Soobin realizes. 

“Your hair,” Soobin says, and the look on his face is complicated enough that Kai doesn’t exactly know how to respond. He covertly checks to see if his skin is still glowing, because the hair can be explained, unlike his skin. He breathes a little easier when he sees that it’s not, and Soobin hasn’t mentioned his eyes either, so he assumes he’s clear on that front too. 

“What about it?” Kai asks, nervous and curious at the same time.

Soobin stares at him for so long that Kai starts to feel dread—aren’t soulmates supposed to be immune to his pheromones? 

Soobin finally clears his throat. “Brown suits you. Why did you change it? You still had black hair right before we napped, unless…” Soobin narrows his eyes as he casts _Tempus._ The Gryffindor then looks at him thoughtfully. “Not a prank then.” It’s still light outside, which should have been enough clue that not much time had passed. 

Kai’s just as confused as Soobin is. Brown? Is it because his glasses were able to revert part of the transformation? He’s never seen himself with brown hair before. 

“Does it look good?” Kai asks shyly, wishing he had a mirror. 

“You always look good,” Soobin says, and Kai half-wishes he didn’t know the Gryffindor is being honest because he can feel his cheeks pink at the compliment. 

“Thanks,” he says, because even if he had meant it innocently, it’s still a compliment coming from his soulmate. Soobin tugs on their connected hands, and Kai lets him maneuver him until he’s comfortably settled in Soobin’s lap, face to face with him. 

“Like I said, it suits you. Is there a reason you changed, or did you just want to show off your transfiguration skills?” Soobin asks curiously, fingers tracing Kai’s brow. “You even got your eyebrows the correct colors. That spell took me forever to get right.” 

Kai doesn’t know whether to feel relieved or frustrated at how dense his soulmate is. He shrugs and doesn’t say anything, because he is bad. At. Lying. He does tuck himself into Soobin’s arms though, burying his face into the side of Soobin’s neck, breathing in the scent of lavender he’d come to love. Soobin starts stroking his hair again, and Kai makes a kitten-like noise of content. 

“Cute.” Soobin chuckles, and Kai playfully thumps him on the shoulder.

“You always call me cute,” Kai grumbles light-heartedly. He thinks he manages not to sound bitter.

Soobin leans back, and Kai whines when he’s jostled from his comfortable position. The Gryffindor looks quizzically at him, and his hand leaves Kai’s hair to tilt his chin towards him instead. 

“That’s because you are,” Soobin says. “And you’re annoying sometimes because you know, and you use that to your advantage.” 

“When—” 

Soobin presses an index finger to Kai’s lips to hush him. The younger scrunches up his face and licks his finger. 

“See what I mean?” Soobin says, but his heart still beats faster at the thought of Kai’s tongue in other places—his mouth, to start with—but he quickly stops that train of thought. 

Kai shrugs. “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.” 

“I was going to compliment you, but never mind.” 

“Soobin,” Kai whines petulantly, and the Gryffindor rolls his eyes, but he obliges. 

“I’m telling you this because I feel like you don’t hear it often enough,” Soobin starts, suddenly feeling nervous. Sure, he’d been gung-ho about it earlier, when he didn’t have time to _think._ But now that he had a few seconds, he realized it’s entirely possible he’ll just end up making Kai uncomfortable, or Merlin forbid, reveal his feelings by accident. Kai is rather sensitive, and lately, he’s been stepping up as the mental and emotional support their group needed at times. 

Still, Soobin persists because he’s already gotten this far. “You’re—” he gets a little tongue-tied, because there are too many words and not enough at the same time to describe Kai adequately. 

The Ravenclaw looks at him fondly and squeezes his hand. In the end, he’s really just an angel. Soobin means to say something about how charming, intelligent, talented, or funny Kai really is, but what comes out is—

“You’re really beautiful. I don’t think you notice that sometimes.” Like now, bathed in the rosy gold of the setting sun, Kai looks enchanting—mesmerizing—devastating. 

Kai’s lip part in surprise, and there’s nothing more than Soobin wants to do in that moment than to kiss him; he thinks it’s probably his fault that their faces are just inches apart now. 

(He doesn’t notice that Kai moves closer of his own accord, seeking out something similar.)

“Soobin,” Kai says, so close Soobin can feel his breath, “I want—” 

The door slams open and they both jump; Soobin steadys Kai in his lap so he doesn’t fall. 

“Can’t you make your entrance like a normal person?” Soobin asks blandly, somehow managing to sound like he hadn’t just been interrupted in the middle of what he thinks might have been a potential kiss. 

Yeonjun grins. “We’re making fireworks, come out!” The Slytherin nods approvingly at Kai. “Nice hair, by the way. Almost as cool as mine.” 

Kai grins. “We’re coming.” He’s excited, fireworks are his favorite, but also a little let down because he thinks he could have really made some progress there—well, there would be plenty of chances, right? He smiles sheepishly at Soobin. The Gryffindor looks at him thoughtfully, and when Yeonjun leaves, he presses a feather-light kiss on Kai’s forehead.

“Let’s go.” 

Kai owls home that night— 

_How do you know when your soulmate likes you back?_

Sometimes, he wishes his father isn’t so cryptic. 

_You just do._

* * *

Kai is still working up the courage to tell Soobin his handful of secrets when the Gryffindor finds him first in the library. 

“Thought you had a meeting?” Kai asks, but Soobin is looking at him meaningfully—in a way that makes his stomach drop—and _oh,_ is he really going to kiss him right here in the library—

(He does.) 

Neither of them are practiced, but enthusiasm makes up for technique, and Soobin leads Kai until he has him properly pressed against the wall. The Ravenclaw is grateful that the library is empty save for them—most of the students are coming back that weekend—because he’s fairly certain that what they’re up to isn’t exactly appropriate for an academic setting. At least he has the quick sense to cast a _Muffliato_ when Soobin starts on his neck. He would die of embarrassment if this is what gets them kicked out after countless times of Beomgyu barging in and yelling (he swears the librarian has favorites). 

“Kai,” Soobin murmurs, lips at his pulse point, “I think your hair’s getting lighter. Are you sure you’re not a Metamorphmagus?” 

Oh yeah, that. He’ll get around to telling Soobin. 

“Shut up and kiss me,” Kai says intelligently, and Soobin does exactly that. 

Later Soobin eventually tells him the reason he kissed him—he’d been selected as Head Boy, which made him realize that unless he took the initiative, the things he were interested in were going to pass him by. 

“That’s a complicated way of saying you’re interested in me.” 

“Kai...I like you, a lot.” 

“Me too. Self-love is vogue right now.” 

“...”

“I like you too, Soobin. More than you know…” 

“Kai…” 

“Mmn—!”

* * *

Kai really does mean to tell him, but there’s a small party that night to celebrate Soobin’s success, and if they spend half the night making out in Soobin’s prefect room, that’s nobody’s business. 

The next day Soobin is preoccupied with orientation, so Kai wanders back to the library, finally finding the courage to head to the back, where _it_ stood. 

He finally dares to let his fingers stroke over the keys.

* * *

It all started in the library, so Kai thinks it’s poetic that it’ll end in the same place. 

“Take off my glasses.” 

Soobin furrows his brow at the unusual request. Kai’s never without his glasses—even when things get heated between them, the Ravenclaw spells them clear rather than taking them off.

“Are you sure?” 

Kai nods, making sure his Muffliato is secure. “I need to tell you something.” 

Soobin swallows and takes Kai’s hand in his, squeezing to comfort the other. “Ok baby. Just know that I’m—we’re always here for you, ok?” 

Kai bites his lip and nods. He doesn’t doubt Soobin, he _knows_ him now. He closes his eyes. 

Soobin removes Kai’s glasses. Almost immediately, Kai’s hair begins to lighten, and when the Ravenclaw opens his blue eyes, Soobin is awestruck. Kai was always gorgeous—but the aura he exudes now is almost otherworldly— 

He thinks this version of Kai could pin him down on any surface and Soobin would thank him.

Soobin’s still confused on what Kai has to tell him when his skin starts to glow and he finally pieces it all together. “You’re a Veela,” Soobin breathes, and Kai’s reluctance to speak of Ilvermorny makes more sense now, if he hadn’t worn these charmed glasses until he came here. “Wait, does that make me your soulmate?” 

“If you accept,” Kai says timidly, and Soobin hates that Kai is even unsure. 

“Yes,” Soobin says, wrapping Kai in his arms, hoping he can erase every doubt in the Ravenclaw’s mind. “Yes. I belong with you.” 

For the first time, Kai looks shy, like when they’d first met. “And I, with you.” 

“Now put these glasses back on so I can take you back to my room without getting jumped.”

* * *

“Wow, I didn’t even know there was a piano back here,” Taehyun comments. 

“Are we just going to let him off?” Beomgyu squawks, and it’s a relief they have a heavily reinforced Muffliato up. “He looks like _that_ and we’re not gonna make him pay for keeping this a secret?” Kai smirks.

“Can you not feed his ego,” Soobin groans, because as much as he had personally fawned over Kai with his blue-eyed, Greek-like beauty and gorgeous blond tresses, he’s not about ready to let his best friends do the same. Kai also seems to be smugly aware of the effect he has on Soobin, which is terrible when Soobin is trying to prove a point because Kai will just look at him with bedroom eyes and that’s literally enough for Soobin to set everything aside to kiss him—

“Be ready with my glasses, I don’t know if it’ll be more or less potent because I haven’t played in a while.” 

Soobin nods. Kai’s fingers tremble on the keys, but all it takes is Soobin’s hand on his shoulder to calm down. He plays a tune he remembers—a lullaby that his mother taught him, Nap of a Star. 

Almost immediately the trio’s eyes become glassy and lovestruck. Soobin all but shoves Kai’s glasses back on, releasing their friends from the Veela’s magic. 

“Holy shit,” Yeonjun swore. “I was ready to do _anything_ for you.” 

“That was embarrassing. Let’s not speak of this again,” Beomgyu says, blushing slightly. 

“Interesting,” Taehyun says before smiling. “You should play again. You obviously miss it.” 

The four nod in agreement. “We’re here for you now.” 

All in all, it’s rather anticlimactic. Kai doesn’t know why he waited this long, when he knows he’s found his place. He’s made his home here, and he’s built his _tomorrow_ with them. 

**Author's Note:**

> veela lore i used  
> *soulmate (modified), didn't go too much in detail / may save it for??? future content???  
> *blond hair, blue eyes, beautiful asf, the whole nine  
> *skin glows  
> *release pheromones when dancing (modified to playing piano)  
> *release pheromones if at close distance/if veela is not trained in controlling said pheromones (modification)
> 
> [prompt request](https://curiouscat.me/dracometria)  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/jiayouhyuka)♡


End file.
